I Used to Be an English Major

Lindsay’s review of Beastlyreminded me of an article I read recently in a librarian magazine about pairing modern books with classics. An idea I LOVE. It included a few suggestions (like pairing Peter & the Starcatchers with Peter Pan and Leaves of Grass with Paper Towns), and it listed what I consider the GREATEST pairing and I disappointed I didn’t think of it myself: The Hunger Games with the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.

Have you ever read that? I read it for a class in college & loved it! I don’t want to explain too much about it because it’s a short story and I’d basically give it all away, but it would be awesome to pair with The Hunger Games! That’s all I’ll say. 🙂 You can read it online HERE. This was turned into a movie at some point because I caught it on TV one day. Keri Russell aka Felicity was in it! But it wasn’t very good, so I didn’t even watch the whole thing. But apparently I should have because according to imdb, Mr. Feeny was in it! Shoot.

Anyway, while I was re-reading “The Lottery,” I remembered my other favorite short story that I read as an English major – “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

(Nerd alert!) I think I even wrote a critical analysis paper on it. I read a few years ago that it was going to be a movie, but I don’t think it got much attention, and I’m not even sure if it ever came out. (Boo.) You can read “The Yellow Wallpaper” online HERE.

Now I’m in a short story mood. Have you read either of these? What do YOU recommend?

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4 Responses to “I Used to Be an English Major”

I adore The Lottery!!!!! We read it in 7th grade and it blew my mind!!!! I totally watched the movie a million years ago when it was on tv too.

I also fondly remember The Yellow Wallpaper from my women’s lit class. Some of my other favorite short stories are The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by Fitzgerald and The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street by somebody….I can’t remember the author but it was made into a twilight zone episode that was AWESOME!!!

I read “The Lottery” when I was a freshman in high school, and it definitely made an impression on me. I remember the TV movie with Keri Russell and Dan Cortese. I don’t remember if I watched the whole thing. I love Dorothy Parker’s poetry and read one of her short stories in high school. I would recommend checking out her stuff.